University of Huddersfield Repository

Walsh, Andrew and Godwin, Peter

It’s just not the same: mobile information literacy

Original Citation

Walsh, Andrew and Godwin, Peter (2012) It’s just not the same: mobile information literacy. In: M­libraries 3: Transforming libraries with mobile technology. Facet, London, pp. 109­118. ISBN 9781856047760 

This version is available at http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/11034/

The University Repository is a digital collection of the research output of theUniversity, available on Open Access. Copyright and Moral Rights for the itemson this site are retained by the individual author and/or other copyright owners.Users may access full items free of charge; copies of full text items generallycan be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in anyformat or medium for personal research or study, educational or not­for­profitpurposes without prior permission or charge, provided:

• The authors, title and full bibliographic details is credited in any copy;• A hyperlink and/or URL is included for the original metadata page; and• The content is not changed in any way.

For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, pleasecontact the Repository Team at: E.mailbox@hud.ac.uk.

http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/

It’s just not the same: Mobile Information Literacy.

Andrew Walsh, University of Huddersfield

Peter Godwin, University of Bedfordshire

ABSTRACTIntroduction

Libraries are increasingly developing services that take into account the massive effect of

mobile devices upon our users. This paper chapter looks at what this might mean for

Information Literacy.

Some databases and library catalogues have mobile versions. Growing numbers of our

users have the devices to access these. When a library user is as likely to search for

information on a mobile phone, tablet or handheld gaming device as on a fixed PC in a

physical library, this could change the concept of what it means to be information literate.

How will mobile search change the discovery, evaluation and re-use of information? We will

consider whether we need to develop a new lens through which to view the literacies

required by our clientele.

From these theoretical considerations we proceed to a quick review of experience gained of

mobile devices at two UK new Universities: Bedfordshire and Huddersfield.

INTRODUCTION

Libraries could presently be in their greatest period of change: we have moved on from the

hybrid library, are facing a public perception of electronic delivery of all content, and Web 2.0

has given everyone the potential to author and share. Now add to this the phenomenal

spread of mobile devices across the world. Information is becoming mobile and social. It also

appears that the Great Recession which has hit large parts of the world may not slow these

Formatted: Centered

developments. Librarians must be spending more time over coming months conditioning

their services to the mobile environment.

HOW DOES MOBILE AFFECT INFORMATION L ITERACY?

The image of young students who are continually wired into the online environment, texting,

and multi-tasking has been overdone. It has been easy to exaggerate the differences of the

Web generation. The CIBER reports (CIBER,2008) have done much to debunk the hype

that used to surround them. The truth is that we have all become part of the Web generation

to a greater or lesser extent. If we consider mobile devices, then their adoption is across the

whole of society. But what will it mean when searching and expectation of access to

information is immediate and done on the move? It is likely to involve an extension of

existing trends whereby search is done at speed with lack of reflection on results and less

reading of the actual content. Also there will be the requirement to join up these devices into

existing personal learning environments, and into new developing platforms. As we are

already seeing a merging of literacies (ITC, information, media, visual etc.) the management,

manipulation and reformulation of this stuff is being seen by some as transliteracy. The

onset of mobile devices into this equation simply adds a new twist.

But what is the nature of that twist? Do we know how information seeking and use changes

when using mobile devices? At the moment there is limited evidence, but the current

literature provides evidence for four areas in which ‘mobile information literacy’ may vary

from ‘fixed information literacy’.

“Fixed” IL “Mobile” IL

Where? Largely in “set” places. At a

desktop computer (with little

variation in software); at a fixed

workplace; within a library.

Anywhere; any mobile device

(phone, games device, eBook

reader – massive variation in

device).

What? Anything and everything. Normally quick information, often

context or location specific.

How? Range of established tools to

access and manage wide range of

information sources. Standard

search engines.

Often narrow Apps and individual

specialist sites rather than open

web.

Time spent? Varies. Often slow, long access.

People spending long periods

searching for, organising and

extracting information, especially

for academic use.

Quick / Fast only. Shorter

searches. Little pondering and

extracting information. Favour

short chunks of info.

“Convenience” of device.

Fig. 1

Where it is manifested

Traditionally searching for information, evaluating it, and using that information may

have been expected to happen in a limited range of contexts. Searching for

information may happen in a library, from a fixed workspace, possibly at a fixed multi-

purpose computer with a large screen. Mobile search can happen anywhere from a

range of devices with massive variation in functionality anywhere with a mobile

phone or wireless internet signal. Search no longer happens in fixed, controlled

environments, but in random, messy, uncontrolled ones.

Church and Smyth (2008) in a diary study of mobile information needs, found that

over 67% of information needs in their participants were generated when the user

was mobile. The quantity and penetration of mobile internet capable devices mean

that these people can increasingly attempt to meet these needs when they occur.

Indeed, Hemoinen (2009) found that amongst already active mobile internet users,

virtually all of these “on the move” type of information needs were addressed through

mobile devices as they occurred, with the only failure to address a need occurring

due to a mobile phone battery running out!

What searches are carried out

Mobile information needs are dominated by the desire for quick, often context

specific information particularly regarding local services, travel and trivia (Church &

Smyth, 2009 and Heimonen 2009). Whereas with searching and using information in

a fixed, traditional location we may search for anything and everything, this isn’t the

case for mobile use. The searches we carry out on a mobile device are much more

likely to be an additional activity rather than the sole focus of our attention, and

therefore influenced by the primary activity we are also engaged in, that is the

context in which we find ourselves (Hinze et al., 2010).

The information we seek on the move is about facts and small elements of

information. There is likely to be limited evaluation of the information we find, and

little opportunity to take detailed information away and derive new knowledge from it.

How we search

Searching for information online from a desktop computer allows access to a wide

range of established tools and information sources. It is normal to start searching for

information with a generic search engine, which may then lead onto more specialist

sites or search tools. It could be characterised by the breadth of sources and tools

available and used. Mobile search, however, is heavily influenced by the natural

constraints of using a device with a small screen, a small or virtual keyboard and

may be characterised by narrowness of sources used.

Rather than search the open web, smartphone users are also tending towards the

installation and use of specialist apps.

Time spent on searching

In Hemoinen’s (2009) study, it was found that 35% of information needs occurred in

the home. Even though a fixed computer (or laptop) may have been available, the

speed, proximity and convenience of using a mobile device trumped the more

powerful device. People turn to their mobile devices for quick and dirty searches for

information. They want to know something, and they want to know it now!

A typical quote from some recent interviews one of the authors carried out is ‘I just

love the thought of not being tethered to go and fire up the old laptop or desktop

machine…’, where the interviewee tended towards using a mobile device because of

speed and convenience.

UNIVERSITY OF BEDFORDSHIRE

University of Bedfordshire (UoB) is a new University with libraries at two major campuses

(Luton and Bedford), and several smaller units serving the 23,000 students. International

recruitment is particularly strong and we shall focus on the views of these students later in

this paper. A small general survey last summer, together with the obvious prevalence of

mobile devices everywhere among students, prompted the development of mobile

friendly access to our resources. Mobile devices also seemed to provide a way of connecting

with our users to aid Information Literacy development.

QR codes offered the most promising way of helping to exploit our stock and also gave the

potential of helping to explain procedures or how to use unfathomable equipment onsite. We

had already developed a series of short library videos which we called “Just a Minute”,

covering anything from basic catalogue introduction to print credit machines, self-issue and

referencing. These were loaded into YouTube. See

http://lrweb.beds.ac.uk/libraryservices/whoweare/videos

The possibility of being able to put links to these at point of use offered by QR codes was

novel and exciting. For example a video on how to operate a new movable stack to house

our journal collection at the Luton site. We have experimented with the use of QR codes in

subject leaflets to encourage connection with our best resources. Certain textbooks have

always been in exceptional demand. Although these could sometimes be available as an

electronic book, our users still opted for a print book. We have therefore been using QR

codes on the bay ends of book shelves to promote the e versions of our most popular titles.

See fig 2.

In the last year we have developed in-house a free Learning Resources application for

Android phones which links to the Catalogue, our Web site, a list of our “Just a Minute”

videos with ability to view, a GPS “Find a Campus” guide to the local campus, and E-mail

through the auto-enquiry function or ability to call us directly to renew items. See

http://lrweb.beds.ac.uk/libraryservices/whoweare/apps/android

However we still needed a direct Library Catalogue application and for this we chose to

employ the commercial LibraryAnywhere software which is compatible with iPhone, Android

and Blackberry devices. See http://lrweb.beds.ac.uk/libraryservices/whoweare/apps

Finally we have employed the commercial Z-Bar software for both iPhone and Android

devices which allows the scanning of barcodes (importantly of book barcodes in shops) to

match against our Library catalogue.

So far I have listed our initiatives without any indication of impact. Download of the

applications have been encouraging. Take-up of QR codes was likely to be slow due to

students being unaware of them and then the barrier of needing to download a free

application like Beetag on their device. The need to log into the wireless network on campus

provided another time barrier. Therefore promotion was required and championship by

academic librarians in any encounter with students. I decided to take a snapshot and test the

ownership of devices, knowledge and take-up of our mobile services in April 2011 with a

major client group : large cohorts of Business Masters students. The vast majority of these

students were from the Indian subcontinent. 172 responses were gathered (about 10% of

the student cohort)of whom 116 considered they were using a mobile device as a learning

tool, but only 25 admitted to having an iPhone, 20 an Android and 3 an iPad, 2 an e-book

reader and 24 a Blackberry. Only 27 said they knew of our Android application for library

services and 10 had used it. 36 knew of QR codes with 21 using them. Many of these

students had seen a demonstration of a QR code at an earlier date. Despite some clear

faults in the survey design the message was that these students were not so advanced in

mobile use as might have been supposed. Familiarity and employment of these devices will

be crucial in a business environment so this encourages me to be much more proactive with

future cohorts. This can be done most effectively by following up the survey with some small

focus groups and interviews with some of this client group.

Fig.2

UNIVERSITY OF HUDDERSFIELD

The University of Huddersfield has in the region of 24,000 students with representation from

over 130 countries. A Post 1992 university, it has a rich history of vocational education that

reaches into the present day and is among the UK's top 10 providers of 'sandwich courses'

where students undertake a paid work placement in industry or commerce. We’ve also

noticed increasing numbers of mobile devices being used in the library over recent years,

with a current trend towards smartphones rather than standard ‘feature phones’. Indeed, a

university survey in 2010 found that roughly three quarters of our students had a mobile

phone contract that allowed access to the internet, the majority of which had effectively

unlimited data. We’ve therefore experimented with several services to take advantage of

students’ own mobile devices, a few of which are outlined below.

Although text messaging (SMS) has been about in existence for many years, with a high

percentage of people in the UK having access to it, until recently we hadn’t taken advantage

of it. So over the last couple of years we have tried various text messaging services, the first

of which was a simple “text a librarian” service, allowing members of the university to text

questions through to a librarian alongside the many other ways of contacting us. This simple

text service has been taken up by others more recently, with our most popular mobile

service currently being the ability to text NOISE to a number, along with a location, to report

inappropriate behaviour in the library.

Getting more directly involved with information literacy and text messaging, we produced a

set of ten text messages to support our face to face induction process. These were sent out

Comment [MA1]: Need a label for Fig 2

during the first term of the academic year to remind people of useful information we

traditionally cover in the standard induction process.

We’ve also used students own mobiles in classes, experimenting with different ways to use

them for polling, similar to interactive handsets or clickers that many educational institutions

use. Currently we tend to use Poll Everywhere (www.polleverywhere.com) that allows similar

functionality to clickers, but using students own mobiles. They can vote via text message,

Twitter or the web and the basic service is currently free for class sizes up to thirty.

QR codes have been used in many ways, particularly in print handouts to link the plain

physical paper to extra videos, quizzes and other online materials to turn them into

interactive handouts. These seem a great way of bringing extra information literacy materials

to our users, but can only be an “extra” at present as so many people either can’t, or are not

willing to, access QR codes.

Some of the materials linked to from QR codes are videos that we have tried to make

available in mobile friendly format and we have settled primarily on uploading videos to

YouTube to facilitate this rather than trying to provide a range of alternative formats.

We suspect that mobile search will be increasingly important, and our resource discovery

service (Summon), which includes our library catalogue, works well on mobile devices.

SummaryConclusion

It is likely that mobile devices will continue to make a difference in the way that people

interact with information, a difference that is likely to accelerate. We don’t yet know how

mobile information literacy may be different from traditional views of information literacy,

though there are already clues emerging.

We are providing a range of services to help develop information literacy within our

universities, only some of which are outlined above. In the near future we need to be more

aware of how information literacy itself is changed so we can continue to provide appropriate

and useful services to staff and students within our institutions.

References

Church, K. Smyth, B. (2008) Understanding mobile information needs. In: Proceedings of the

10th international conference on Human computer interaction with mobile devices and

services (MobileHCI '08). ACM, New York, NY, USA, pp.493-494

CIBER (2008) The information behaviour of the researcher of the future.

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/infostudies/research/ciber/downloads/

Heimonen, T. (2009) Information needs and practices of active mobile internet users.

Mobility '09 Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Mobile Technology,

Application & Systems. Nice, France.

Hinze, A. M., Chang, C. & Nichols, D. M. (2010). Contextual queries and situated information

needs for mobile users. (Working paper 01/2010). Hamilton, New Zealand: University of

Waikato, Department of Computer Science.